FtH: Dark Realm
by UnknownUnseenUnheard
Summary: Part of the From the Heart Series, but can be read as a stand alone. Aqua isn't entirely alone in the Dark Realm like she initially thought. What's hell without company? Alternatively, Gladio has been in the Dark Realm far longer than Aqua, and the two of them find each other
1. Aqua I

A/N: Part of the From the Heart Series, but can be read as a stand alone.

Okay. So this one is going to focus on Aqua in the Dark Realm, except, since I'm not Nomura levels of evil, she is not alone! (Or does this make me eviler? Who knows…)

Expect random cameos in this one(as its canon that Aqua and Ansem the Wise were both in the Dark Realm for who knows how long before finally coming across each other, so it stands to reason there are more people down there than expected) from others cast into the Dark Realm(they'll come and go)

Published: 5/13/2019

Warnings: Brief Suicidal thoughts

Featured Character:

Aqua

Supporting:

Gladio

Prompto

Antagonist:

Heartless

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Aqua I**

Crouched with her back against a rock, Aqua gazed up in melancholy. This place was her home now.

Dark, eternal night. Time, frozen around her. Everything cold to the touch. Sometimes, Aqua wondered why she even bothered. Why she even continued fighting.

Alone… For so long.

What even was the point, anyways?

No one was coming for her. That was obvious. Aqua had been here long enough to know that. This world would be her grave.

Maybe she should just end it. She was already dead anyways. All that was left was a ghost, a remnant that wouldn't even be remembered.

Better to die than to become one of them, to become a Heartless, to lose herself and become a mons-

"You come here often?"

The words are spoken so softly, so casually, that Aqua almost dismisses them for being fake. Everything in this land was fake. This world was a fractured memory, filled with illusions and death and monsters.

Except, this time, it wasn't.

Rising to her feet, Aqua spun, Master's Defender flashing into her hands as she did so. There, standing a few feet away from her was a man, taller and more built than even Terra(and that was really saying something). The man apparently had never heard of proper clothing, because he wasn't even wearing a shirt, exposing his body for all to see.

Had they been anywhere else, Aqua would have been tempted to look. Hey, she wasn't a saint.

"Wow there, sister. I come in peace," the man lifted his hands in mock surrender.

Aqua narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Usually, the phantoms around here take the shape of people I knew before trying to attack me," Aqua commented. The man looked taken aback, offended even, but Aqua elected to ignore that and continued on, "One even took my shape once, for all the good it did it. Who are you supposed to be?"

"My name," the man said, eyeing her Keyblade wearily before looking back up, meeting Aqua's gaze, "is Gladio. And I'm no 'phantom', sister. I'm stranded here, same as you."

Aqua froze.

That…

Actually, she had come across others like that. Terra's fading figure, which she had encountered several times, came to mind. Those locked between the planes of one world in the next.

Aqua eyed the man up and down, searching for any sign of deceit.

"If you're done checking me out, babe, mind lowering the whatever the hell that is? I don't like being threatened." Gladio said.

Aqua snorted but lowered the Keyblade regardless.

"Oh really, now? What happened to sis?"

Gladio's eyes raked over her appreciatively. Aqua didn't even blink. Years in hell will make you stop caring about the littlest things. Gladio met her gaze again.

"I think babe suits you so much better."

Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Aqua said, dismissing her Keyblade. "You're just another illusion. I really am losing my mind, stuck here."

With that, Aqua turned her back and walked away. It was time to move on. Wander again, forevermore.

Illusions can't harm you. Not physically, anyways.

And, if he was real?

Well, Aqua had been here long enough. She'd beat him black and blue before he could even blink.

* * *

As it would turn out, Gladio was not, in fact, an illusion.

On the bright side, Aqua was certain he wasn't a phantom either. Why?

Illusions are just that. Figments of one's imagination. They can't actually affect the real world. Phantoms, on the other hand, could and typically resorted to assaulting her at whatever opportunity, usually while wearing the face of someone she loved just to mess with her.

She now knew Gladio was no illusion, because he could affect things around him. And she definitely knew he wasn't a phantom, because no phantom ever had helped her take down Heartless, so there was that.

Aqua watched as Gladio cleaved his way through the Heartless, a Greatsword longer that she was tall and probably heavier too ripping the NeoShadows to shreds. Those muscles, apparently, were not just for show, as Gladio ripped through them with utter ease, wielding the blade like it was an extension of his arms.

Ripping through the last one, Gladio turned to her expectantly before stabbing the sword into the ground. Arms crossed above the hilt, Gladio rested his chin there before raising a single eyebrow at Aqua.

"Believe I'm real now, Queen of the Cartwheels?"

* * *

Company was… Not something Aqua was accustomed to. She had been alone for so long that it was hard realizing that she no longer was.

"So, what's your story, blue bells? How'd a pretty thing like you end up in a dark, dirty place like this?" Gladio drawled.

Aqua snorted.

"Are you ever going to settle on a name for me?"

Gladio pretended to think for a second before shrugging. "Doll, I'll call you whatever you like."

"How about my name?" Aqua responded snippily.

"Sure, as soon as you tell it to me."

There was a brief stunned silence.

For the first time in years, Aqua felt a flush crawl along her skin. Gladio stared at her for several seconds before tossing his head back and laughing.

"You seriously forgot that you never told me you name?" Gladio was finding far too much amusement in this.

"It's not like I've had anyone to tell in a while!" Aqua snapped.

Gladio paused before shooting her an apologetic look.

"Sorry, sorry. That was a bit crass of me," Gladio apologized before extending a hand out. "Gladiolus Amicitia, at your service. My friends call me Gladio."

Aqua eyed the hand before looking up at Gladio's face, honest and earnest. Eh. What the hell. She was stuck here anyways. She might as well start trusting the only other person she'd found while down here so far.

Aqua extended her own hand.

"My name is Aqua. I, ah, don't have a surname." Aqua introduced herself.

Gladio eyed her oddly at that before shaking it off and shrugging.

"Eh, I suppose we can't all be from places with proper culture."

Aqua gave that response exactly what it deserved.

"Owe! You know what, I think I'm going back to calling you 'sis', you hit just as hard as she did!" Gladio snapped before paling.

Aqua didn't need to ask. She'd seen the same look in the mirror, anytime she thought of Ventus or Terra or Master Eraqus. And, frankly, Aqua knew better than to pry so she kicked Gladio again.

That seemed to knock him out of it as he glared, rubbing at his shin. Aqua backed away slightly before summoning her Keyblade again.

"Now that we've gotten past introductions, want to spar?" Aqua offered.

Gladio looked surprised. Aqua couldn't blame him. She was surprised she'd made the offer herself.

"You want to do some more fighting?" Gladio asked incredulously.

"I want to let some steam off that doesn't involve nearly getting killed by soul ripping monsters." Aqua corrected.

Gladio contemplated that for a few seconds before shrugging again, pulling his greatsword from the ground.

"Fuck it. Let's go, princess. Show me what you've got."

* * *

"It was me or him," Aqua offered without prompting.

"Hm?" Gladio looked up, busy doing pushups.

"It was me or him," Aqua repeated from her spot, propped up against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees. "I couldn't let Terra fall into a place like this, so I… I fell instead. I managed to get him out, but it was too late for me."

Gladio stared at her for several moments before nodding, turning away and going back to his reps without another word.

* * *

"We tried to save the world. Hell, who knows, maybe we would have even succeeded, but… Heartless and Daemons, combined? Noct didn't even get a chance to come out of the Crystal before it all ended." Gladio, much like Aqua, told her this without her having to ask. The words on his tongue, bitter and angry.

The pair of them were walking. Wandering, again. It was dreary, walking through the fallen remains of broken worlds, but at least then they didn't have to stare off into the endless sea of nothingness.

Aqua looked up.

"Noct?"

Gladio's breath hitched for a moment.

"He- Yeah, Noct. He was… I would have followed him to hell and back. Have you ever met someone like that?" Gladio asked, turning to look straight at her. "Someone who annoys the ever living hell out of you, before growing on you like some kind of mutated fungus that you'd literally do anything for?"

Aqua thought of Terra and Ventus and nights spent gazing up at the stars, her hands entwined with there's.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do."

* * *

The monotony, eventually, had to come to an end. The how surprised them both. Gladio more than Aqua, surely; because while she had no idea who the unfortunate newcomer to the Dark Realm was, Gladio seemed pretty damn acquainted.

A kid had literally just dropped down from the sky, landing in an awkward pile of limbs. He was damn lucky Aqua was around too, or the Heartless would have devoured him in a second.

Turning to the boy, Aqua frowned.

Blond haired, freckled, skinny, hairstyles… Styled similar to Ventus, if Aqua was being honest. Ignoring the pain the memory brought, Aqua forged on.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" Aqua demanded.

The boy's, teenager really, expression became panicked before hardening.

Oh?

"Who am I? Who are you? I'll be asked the questions around here," the teen had the balls to start sniffing at her hauntingly.

Aqua stared at him for point two seconds before leveling the Keyblade at him. The teen eeped.

"Talk, blondie."

Gladio then solved her problem by materializing out of nowhere, hand reaching out and grabbing the kid by the back of the shirt.

"Hey! Lemme go! Help! Someone, help!" The teen yelled. Well, tough luck, the only things here were death and darkness.

And them now too, apparently. Then again, this place pretty much was a deranged hellistic afterlife.

"You have got to be shitting me," Gladio said without a moment of hesitation, staring at the boy with unmasked recognition and awe and-

Oh.

Oh.

Aqua looked away. Aqua looked away, and furiously tried to bury the pang of jealousy that shot through her because, really, this wasn't anything to be jealous of. This place was hell, and someone clearly as important to Gladio as Terra and Ventus had been to her had just been dragged right into it.


	2. Gladio I

A/N: For the record people, just like in FtH: Rebirth, there will be no relations between a grown man and a teenage child (because that's just gross)

Published: 6/20/2019

Warnings: None

Featured Character:

Gladio Amicitia

Supporting:

Prompto Argentum

Aqua

Antagonist: 

None

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Gladio I**

Prompto had fallen from the skies.

Prompto had fallen from the skies, right into Galdio's arms.

Okay, he hadn't literally fallen into Gladio's arms, but you get the picture.

Galido had to save him from getting skewered by Aqua too. Aqua was nice and all, but years in the Dark Realm tend to a person trigger finger.

Astral knew Gladio had been down here longer than she had. He definitely knew the feeling.

Gladio yanked Prompto up by the back of the shirt, lifting the kid with ease. It was like holding a couple of grapes, really.

"Hey! Lemme go! Help! Someone, help!" Prompto cried, swinging his arms and legs.

Gladio was offended.

First of all, what in the hell kind of form was that?

Second of all, how dare the little shit not recognize him?

"You have got to be shitting me," Gladio said without an ounce of hesitation.

Teen Prompto glared at him.

"You better let me go, buddy. I know karate," Prompto threatened.

Gladio raised a single unimpressed eyebrow.

"Oh really? Why don't you show me, kid?"

Prompto responded by lifting his legs back, wrapping them around Gladio's bicep in a vice grip before twisting, hard. Yelping, Gladio's grip slacked. Pulling himself up with strength that betrayed his skinny posture, Prompto head butted him. Hard.

Prompto fell to the ground as Gladio hissed, rubbing at his bleeding nose. That… Hadn't hurt, if Gladio was being honest.

Well, hadn't hurt anything other than his pride.

"From the teachings of Figaro-Sensei, I-"

"Stop."

Prompto froze. Literally froze. Gladio had seen this kind of magic before, but not in a long time. Not since Noctis, and his ability to mix spells back and forth, adding effects to elemental magic left and right.

Gladio looked up. Aqua's lip quivered slightly. Gladio glared.

"Shut it."

"I didn't say anything," Aqua claimed, but the grin on her face was unmistakable. "Want me to-"

"Unfreeze him, please," Gladio interrupted. Then, reluctance clear on his face, Gladio spoke. He really hoped Aqua didn't take this the wrong way. "And- and, can you give us a few minutes?"

Aqua stared at him for several seconds before reaching out, hand landing on his shoulder and squeezing.

"Take as much time as you need. I won't go far."

Gladio attempted to thank her. Key word being the word attempt. Instead, Gladio found his breath hitching as he turned to stare at Prompto.

Stupid, annoying, picture loving Prompto. Joke loving, deeply layered Prompto. Loyal, friendly, hurt Prompto.

Prompto, who'd died in his arms.

Prompto, who was somehow alive again- alive and here and breathing and-

And unfreezing because Aqua was a woman of her word.

"- am going to unload a complete can of whoop ass on you, buddy, if you don't tell-" Prompto's motter mouth went off right at the point Aqua had initially halted it at.

Gladio didn't let him finish. Instead, he reacted on instinct. Dashing forward with agility the de-aged Prompto could never hope to match, Gladio wrapped the teen in his arms and pulled him in close.

"Woah! Hey! What are you- That- actually, that feels kinda nice and I don't know why…"

"Prompto."

"Yeah?"

"For once in your life, can you shut up and just let me have this moment?"

"... Okay."

Then, Prompto hugged back, wiry little arms rising up to curl along Gladio's back. Gladio's heart thudded painfully against his chest, but all he could feel was an overwhelming joy

All Gladio could feel was complete.

Until reality came crashing down.

Gladio stiffened, pulling back a bit to stare better at the boy in his arms. And Prompto really was just a boy. Gladio could only assume he'd reincarnated, but to have the same name afterwards? That… That was odd, really.

But, it wasn't the most pressing detail.

Gladio stared into Prompto's eyes, and Prompto squirmed a bit, clearly becoming uncomfortable. Gladio let go at the non verbal signal, because only an amoral jackass continues touching someone in any way, shape, or form when they've made it clear they don't like it.

"Prompto… How are you here? Why are you here? This is were Heartless are born. How the hell did you end up here?"

* * *

Great. Not only had Prompto managed to land himself in what was apparently literally hell, the older sexy stranger in front of him was now asking him how he got here.

He couldn't very damn well say 'Oh gosh, this strange lady showed up randomly, stabbed me with a giant key, and made me trigger the goddamn apocalypse'. Prompto doubted that would go over well, even if said older sexy stranger was looking at him as if Prompto personally hung up the moon and stars each and every night.

Prompto couldn't very well tell the truth. He didn't have a good excuse either, however, so he decided to just go with the middle ground.

The best lies are always the ones mixed with truth. Besides, Prompto wasn't going to lie.

Just… Omit unimportant details a stranger had absolutely no right to ask of.

Prompto opened his mouth… And-

"This crazy lady with yellow eyes stabbed me with a giant key and suddenly I wasn't there anymore and everything was dark and I was growing and I- I saw you. Why the hell would I see you? I don't even know you! I saw you, and I saw Noct, and… Some weird dude with glasses, actually, and you told me off for giving up and made me feel disappointed and- and- oh god, why am I telling you all this?!"

Prompto had never had a blabber mouth. That honor went to Bartz Klauser.

Trauma. Prompto blamed the trauma.

The sexy stranger responded to Prompto's blathering by wrapping him in this strong arms again.

"Hey. Hey, breathe kid. Breath. Breath, and start from the beginning. Tell me everything. Let me help."

This man was a stranger. Prompto had never seen him before. Prompto didn't even know his name. A complete and utter stranger.

Yet…

A part of Prompto just…

His mind didn't know this man, but his heart did.

And his heart screamed at him that he could trust him, that he put his faith in him. His heart told him-

"Gladio?"

The sexy stranger snorted, pulling back to smile at him. "Yeah. Yeah, Prompto. It's me. It's me."

Prompto didn't know what that even meant. All he knew was that he wanted to pour his heart out. He wanted to get it out. He wanted to talk, to tell someone, anyone, about what had happened.

He needed to get it off his chest.

So, he did.

* * *

Prompto ranted on for a good twenty minutes before… Before finally passing out. Red in the face, years splotched in every direction, Prompto had finally managed to tire himself out into unconsciousness.

Gladio's fists clenched painfully, nails digging into his skin.

Prompto… Had reincarnated. He'd reincarnated, and had been happy. He'd had everything he'd ever wanted.

A guardian that cared for him. Friends that appreciated him. A place to call home.

And… Some monster had just waltzed in and ripped it all away, just because she could. No other reason. No other purpose. Just the pure sadistic pleasure of causing suffering.

Gladio wanted to hit something. He wanted to break something. He wanted to tear something apart. This was the Dark Realm, so that shouldn't be too hard.

Aqua showed up right at that moment, looking rather troubled.

"Did you hear all of that?" Gladio asked through clenched teeth, already knowing the answer.

Aqua nodded.

"Do you know who did this to him?" Gladio demanded.

Who indeed. Who had taken a Keyblade to Prompto's chest and transformed him into… Into a… Well, into what he'd been made to be, if Gladio was being honest.

Prompto hadn't been born. He'd been created, genetically engineered to be a Magitek Soldier for the Imperial Army. Someone, however, had broken into the Magitek facility and had run off with him.

Run off with the failed child who was going to be put to death because they couldn't properly daemonize him. Gladio doubted Prompto had been the first child the Empire had thrown away. He doubted he was the last.

Who cares about infanticide when the victims were clones?

Aqua shook her head.

"Keybladers are rare. As far as I knew, _I_ was the only female Keyblade user," Aqua said.

"Clearly," Gladio hissed, "There's another."

Aqua bit her lip before glancing down at the unconscious Prompto. "He reverted. Whatever she did, it reversed itself. That's- Gladio, I know he's your friend, even if he doesn't remember you, but-"

"This isn't the first time," Gladio coolly interrupted.

Aqua went stiff.

"Prompto is… He's a genetically engineered soldier," Gladio explained. Aqua stared at him for several seconds before shooting a disbelieving look at the passed out teen. "He's a clone," Gladio clarified. "Made to be a… Well, I suppose half-Heartless would be the best term. Daemons and Heartless are pretty damn similar."

Aqua looked sick.

"Who would- no, actually. I know someone who would. Monsters, who only see the existence of others as a means to an end," Aqua spat out with so much raw hatred Gladio was genuinely surprised her eyes didn't flash gold.

Aqua glanced down at Prompto again.

"I suppose we can take him with us. Guarding him is going to a pain, though…"

"Excuse you?" Gladio said, offended.

Aqua crossed her arms.

"Gladio, he can hardly defend himself against the Heartless. Especially if touching one might trigger a… Transformation. I know you've said he's gone back from it before, but what if the time comes were he can't? What if he gets stuck like that?"

"We'll give him a gun! He's pretty handy with those!" Gladio shot back.

Aqua let out a noise of exasperation.

"I don't understand why this is an argument. He is a _child. _We need to watch his back, not make him watch ours."

"We can hardly watch our own backs, much less one more. And, you're underestimating him. Prompto can hold his own, he just has to-"

"Has to what? Remember whatever it is that he's forgotten?"

"Ye-." Gladio froze, the word choking to death on his tongue.

Prompto… Had died. He remembered that very clearly. Prompto had died, yet here he was. Prompto had fallen, yet here he was. Prompto had been in his late twenties, yet he'd been de aged at least a decade from what Gladio could tell.

Prompto remembering would be useful. Prompto was no slouch in a fight and, if Gladio could summon weapons here in the Dark Realm, Prompto should be able to summon his guns and his tools.

But…

Remembering would mean remembering how he died.

That… Gladio didn't want to put Prompto through that. No one deserved to go through something like that.

…

Okay, maybe Ardyn deserved it, that man was downright psychotic.

"I agree we'll have to guard him, that's a given," Gladio said. Aqua nodded. "But, we can't watch him 24/7. It would literally be impossible. He won't survive."

Aqua looked hesitant before reluctantly nodding. Then, she turned and walked away, a name slipping past her lips. Gladio didn't even think she did it on purpose.

Gladio didn't need to ask to know that Ven was someone important. Aqua's heartbroken tone was enough for that.


End file.
